Being able to move the stats from one clothing item to another is nice, but it would be really great to be able to take two items and make a new one with the highest stats from each item. Maybe it could work like this:
Items from different schools could NOT be combined. If you combine a school-specific item with a school-neutral item, the new item is school-specific. The level of the new item is the same as the highest level item in the combination. The cost goes up every time you modify the same item.
Combined items could not be sold in the bazar.
Maybe rings and athames could be done in a blacksmith shop.
I know I would spend crowns to be able to modify my gear, and I'm a cheapskate.